UNFCCC Press Release

(Bonn, 22 November 2011) - The secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) is seeking to acknowledge the increasing momentum
for stronger international and national action on climate change by
highlighting projects in developing countries that help put the world on a
more climate-resilient and low-carbon path, whilst demonstratively
improving peoples’ lives.

A new initiative dubbed ‘Momentum for Change” will be launched at the UN
Climate Change Conference in Durban (28 November to 9 December 2011) to
showcase efforts that are already benefitting communities and families,
while being successful in either increasing resilience or reducing
emissions. The first series of these “Lighthouse Projects” focuses on
effective public-private partnerships benefitting the world’s poorest
citizens.

Key criteria for the selection of the projects is that they contribute
towards fighting poverty, can be replicated in other countries and can be
scaled-up.

Examples of projects that will be showcased include the retrieval of
valuable drinking water from mining activities, the distribution of clean
cook stoves in African countries, providing farmers in the Horn of Africa
with micro-insurance against crop failure resulting from droughts and
floods, and the use of solar “bottle lights” to bring light into homes in
the Philippines.

“People in developing countries are more willing to take action on climate
change when they are at the same time able to reduce poverty. It is
therefore essential that awareness is created about these beacons of
opportunity, which shed a light on what people are doing on the ground at
national, regional and local level to creatively and effectively respond to
the challenge,” said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, the
UN’s top climate change official.

The new initiative is also designed to bolster international climate change
action.

“Given that many people and organizations are already doing fantastic
work, I believe that governments can take heart and be more ambitious in
their national and international climate policies when they see to what
extent curbing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing poverty can be two
sides of the same coin,” Ms. Figueres said. “It is essential that progress
is made both on climate finance and curbing emissions in Durban. And
governments need to get a better sense of what is possible, given the right
type of support,” she added.

The first stage of the Momentum for Change Initiative, with a geographic
focus on least developed countries in Africa, is supported by the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Rapidly expanding populations and changes in consumption patterns are
placing unprecedented strain on our cities, creating huge solid waste
management challenges and further marginalizing the poorest citizens,” said
Melanie Walker, Deputy Director for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s
Urban Development Special Initiative. “Through this partnership, we aim to
support efforts to identify and scale innovations that are carbon-friendly
and economically viable. From the foundation’s perspective, we are
especially interested in identifying ways to use carbon credits as an
innovative source of revenue to fund pro-poor urban development efforts,”
she added.

The launch event on the evening of 6 December in Durban during UNFCCC’s
COP17 will be attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and South
African President Jacob Zuma. Similar showcase events are to be held at UN
climate change conferences over the next three years. Virtual products,
such as online videos, are to be used alongside physical events in order to
ensure the widest possible dissemination and engagement with stakeholders.

More information on the initiative, including examples of projects and an
explanation of how they are selected, as well as details of the launch
event on 6 December, can be found on the UNFCCC web site.

Ms. Figueres will chat on Twitter about the role of business and
public-private partnerships in fighting climate change on 22 November,
16:00 - 17:00 CET (Berlin time). Users can follow @Cfigueres and the
hashtag #climatebiz to participate.

About the UNFCCC

With 195 Parties, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 1997
Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol has been ratified by 193 of the UNFCCC
Parties. Under the Protocol, 37 States, consisting of highly industrialized
countries and countries undergoing the process of transition to a market
economy, have legally binding emission limitation and reduction
commitments. The ultimate objective of both treaties is to stabilize
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will
prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.